The city of Amsterdam is growing! This growth applies to the inhabitants of all ages and therefore also for older people. Until 2040, the number of older people in Amsterdam is projected to increase from approximately 105.000 in 2018 to aproximately 170.000 in 2040. Increases in the number of older people from non-western origin account for almost half of this growth. This group is expected to triple towards 2040 and experiences health issues relatively often. Average life expectancy has also risen, which causes more chronic diseases such as arthritis, neck and back problems, diabetes and dementia. Furthermore, the number of people with multiple health issues will increase. The city of Amsterdam puts effort – together with its partners – into facilitating healthy and active ageing. The number of healthy years lived is paramount here.

The cities of Amsterdam, Barcelona, Gothenburg, Hengelo, Greater Manchester, Nantes, Oslo and Zaragoza belong to a group of cities that are either already facing relatively high percentages of older people in their populations, or expect such high percentages in the near future. During the last years, these cities have undertaken action to improve quality of life for older people. Still, they have a knowledge need related to the following questions:

• How do older people experience the daily life in the cities?
• What do older people view as benefits and constraints associated with urban living?
• How are the eight stakeholder cities responding to population ageing?
• Which policies have been the most effective in developing age-friendly cities and how have they been implemented and which are the success factors?

ESPON ACPA has responded to these needs and resulted in good practices and policy recommendations based on case study research in the eight stakeholder cities. These insights have been combined in the ACPA synthesis report, main report and policy handbook.

The present report focuses on Amsterdam and portrays the state of affairs in the city in terms of:

• Demographic trends and developments related to population ageing within the city;
• The strategy and policies that the urban authorities, professionals and other stakeholders in Amsterdam pursue to cope with population ageing;
• A selection of inspiring examples of how the ageing policy has been implemented;
• Challenges and opportunities from the perspective of older people, interest groups and policy makers;
• Policy recommendations for Amsterdam based on the insights that have emerged from ACPA.

Further information

This Case Study is part of the ESPON Targeted Analysis ACPA.

This Case Study is available below in EN and NL.

Contact our expert Piera Petruzzi.